Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1887-12-07

After the allOttlng OF seats 10 memoers, aI
$40 P. NJ, the House adjourned. The
reading of the Presidents message was
deferred until yesterday.
Correspondence Of the Yorkville Enquirer.
LETTER FROM COLUMBIA.
COLUMBIA, December Sit is yet too
early in the session to indicate what Will
be the fate of any bill on the calendar, un-
less it may be bills of local nature which
will pass as a matter of course.
In addition to those given in my last let
Stewart, in the House, and Mr.. Black, In
the Senate, have introduced bills to author
:ze the county commissioners Of York
county to borrow money to pay back in
%debtedness of the county, and limit the
rate of interest to be paid to 8 per cent.
The bill also empowers the county COM
missioners to borrow money to pay the
ordinary county expenses and schooi
teachers certificates, utlimits the amount
to one half the tax levied for these pur-
poses and the rate of interest to 10 per
cent. Also, a bill to establish q special
school district to be known as the York
Vile School District and to authorize the
levy of q special tax therein. This Dill
was drafted and presented bya committee
appointed for that purpose at a meeting
held in Yorkville. A petition was pre-
sented against the bill, signed by a number
of the people of Yorkville. The delega-
ton decided to introduce it, coming al.
thoritatively, as it did, from q meeting OF
the people, but with the distinct under
standing that it would be amended so as
to protect the property interests Of the
town by making the question of taxation
subject to the will of a majority OF the
property owners.
The usury: law has been defeated. So
has the Joint resolution calling a Constitu-
tional Convention. This joint resolution
provided for submitting to the people the
question of calling q constitutional con-
Yention to form a new constitution but
it did not provide for submitting that con-
stitution to the people for ratification or
rejection. It simply proposed to place IN
the hands of a few men the power to form
a new constitution, and the people must
take it whether it meets with their APP
proval or not. I have always thought
that our constitution could be changed by
submitting amendments to the people,
from time to time, when they can exam
inc them with more care than would be
the case if a pew constitution was framed
and put before them all at once.
I omitted to mention above a local meas
ure that has passed the Senate and goes to
the House, increasing the pay of trial
Vile, Rock Hill and Fort Mill. This was
thought necessary from the showing made
of the business done. The bill also in
creases the pay of constables in the other
townships S. per month. In Cherokee the
pay of trial justice and constable is each
increased SIS. In York the trial justice
to 800 and constable S75. In Fort Mill the
trial justice is increased $40 and constable
$40, and in Rock Hill trial justice 500
and constable 500.
The Senate has made good progress to-
ward the passage ofa bill to remedy the
forfeited land business and tc place on the
tax books the one million acres Of land
now on the forfeited land list, and which
is not now paying any taxes. And besides:
there are now past due taxes on this land
amounting to over S400, 900. This was
fully discussed in myletters to you during
last year, and it is to be hoped that an ef-
ficient remedy will be adoptedthis session
to cure this great injustice to the conscien-
tious Taxpayers of our State.
A bill to regulate the traffic in seed cot
ton in the counties Of Union, York, Ches-
lCI duu SuuLCIy lldS RoooSN OOSAh w
of the General Assembly. It prohibits
the sale of seed cotton in the counties
named within the period beginning 18th of
August and ending December 18th, with
out q license so to do from the Clerk of
Court; the amount of such license to be
three hundred dollars, and the applicant
must be recommended byten land owners
resident in the township in which he
lives. The bill further requires that per-
sons taking out such license shall keep
a book in which shall be entered the
date of every purchase, from whom,
and the quantity purchased. This bill
does not repeal or in any way affectlaW all
ready in force prohibiting the purchase
of seed cotton between sunset and sunrise.
A bill to empower the Charleston, Gin
cinnati and Chicago Railroad Company to
mortgage its property and franchises and
to confirm existing mortgages, has passed
the Senate and been favorably reported
upon in the House.
A very important bill regulating the
phosphate royalty has been reported, but
no action has been taken OF it.
A bill to provide relief to destitute SOL
diers, and widows of soldiers of the late
war, has passed the Senate and gone to the
House. The following is a synopsis of the
bill: Section ! provides that soldiers and
sailors who were in the service of the State
shall be entitled to five dollars per month
from the State treasury, on the terms n
conditions hereinafter set forth. Section
I'm order to obtain the benefit of this
act, such soldier or sailor must show: 1st,
that he was a bona fde soldier or sailor in
service of the State or of the Confederate
States; End, that while in such service he
lost & leg or arm, or received a wound
causing q permanent disability incapacita-
ting him from earning a living; 3rd, that
neither he nor his wife OWNS property eX-
ceeding the value of five hundred dollars;
4th, that he is not receiving an income
from any source exceeding the amount of
two hundred and fifty dollars per annum.
Section 8 recites the manner in which APP
plications shall be made. Section 4 pro-
vides that such application shall be veri-
fed by the county auditor as to amount of
property owned by applicant, without fee
or charges. Section 5requires that theap-
plicant must procure the affidavit of two
reputable physicians of the county setting
forth the nature of the wound, the extent
of the disability caused, &C. Section E re-
auires that the application shall be SUBJ
mitted to the Clerk of the Court who
shall certify that he knows the party
making such certificates and affidavits;
that the physicians are in good standing
and regularly authorized to practice medi-
cine in this State, and that in his judg-
ment the application should be granted ;
or if he shall find otherwise he shall so
endorse on the application, for which the
Clerk of the Court shall receive no fee.
Section Z makes the Comptroller General,
a. Cooraforu If Stofo an6 the AttOrnaV-